October 5, 2005, brought an early and very significant blizzard to the Northern Plains including western and northern North Dakota. A large band of 15 plus inches of snow fell from the southwest into the north central including from Bowman, through Amidon, New England, Medora, Dickinson, Halliday, Grassy Butte, Garrison, Max, Tioga, Berthold and Minot, to Towner. The heaviest snow was at Dunn Center, Manning, Marshall and Bowbells all with 22 inches, Beach with 20 inches, and Fairfield, Hebron, and Richardton all with 18 inches. Visibility dropped to zero for an extended period of time at Dickinson and Minot and to less than a quarter mile at Hettinger and Williston in snow and blowing snow. Winds gusted to 48 mph at Minot, 45 mph at Hettinger, 40 mph at Williston, and 35 mph at Dickinson. Heavy wet snow pulled down trees and power lines, halted transportation, and disrupted the lives of thousands. In many areas you needed a yardstick to measure the snow. Power outages were reported in Bottineau, Bowman, Burke, Dunn, Golden Valley, McHenry, McKenzie, McLean, Mercer, Oliver, Rolette, Sheridan, and Ward counties. Transportation came to a standstill as the storm forced the closure of major highways. Interstate 94 was closed from Mandan to the Montana line, a distance of 155 miles. Other major highways including 83, 52, 5, and 2 were made impassable and were shut down. The county sheriff in no fewer than 28 counties advised no travel as drifts were reported as deep as four feet. Snow plow operators were ordered off the roads as concern for their safety grew. National Guard soldiers were called out to rescue stranded motorists. Hundreds of motorists and occupants of three buses were rescued. Over a 23 mile stretch of Interstate 94, from Dickinson to Richardton, 100 vehicles with folks inside were stranded. In Dickinson snowplows accompanied emergency vehicles on calls. The storm was preceded on October 1 by temperatures in the 90s, as high as 96 at Beulah. Following the storm, on October 6, temperatures dropped into the teens and single digits above zero, as low as 4 degrees at Powers Lake.

Blizzard in BOTTINEAU, NORTH DAKOTA
From 05-OCT-05 05:00:00 to 05-OCT-05 22:00:00 (CST)
Property damage: 130K
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Blizzard in BURKE, NORTH DAKOTA
From 05-OCT-05 05:00:00 to 05-OCT-05 22:00:00 (CST)
Property damage: 80K
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Blizzard in DIVIDE, NORTH DAKOTA
From 05-OCT-05 05:00:00 to 05-OCT-05 22:00:00 (CST)
Property damage: 20K
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Blizzard in MCHENRY, NORTH DAKOTA
From 05-OCT-05 05:00:00 to 05-OCT-05 22:00:00 (CST)
Property damage: 100K
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Blizzard in MCKENZIE, NORTH DAKOTA
From 05-OCT-05 05:00:00 to 05-OCT-05 22:00:00 (CST)
Property damage: 60K
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Blizzard in MCLEAN, NORTH DAKOTA
From 05-OCT-05 05:00:00 to 05-OCT-05 22:00:00 (CST)
Property damage: 100K
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Blizzard in MOUNTRAIL, NORTH DAKOTA
From 05-OCT-05 05:00:00 to 05-OCT-05 22:00:00 (CST)
Property damage: 150K
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Blizzard in PIERCE, NORTH DAKOTA
From 05-OCT-05 05:00:00 to 05-OCT-05 22:00:00 (CST)
Property damage: 80K
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Blizzard in RENVILLE, NORTH DAKOTA
From 05-OCT-05 05:00:00 to 05-OCT-05 22:00:00 (CST)
Property damage: 70K
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Blizzard in ROLETTE, NORTH DAKOTA
From 05-OCT-05 05:00:00 to 05-OCT-05 22:00:00 (CST)
Property damage: 80K
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Blizzard in WILLIAMS, NORTH DAKOTA
From 05-OCT-05 05:00:00 to 05-OCT-05 22:00:00 (CST)
Property damage: 30K
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Blizzard in WARD, NORTH DAKOTA
From 05-OCT-05 05:00:00 to 05-OCT-05 22:00:00 (CST)
Property damage: 300K
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER